San Jose police rally around officer as police probe 3-year-old son’s shooting death at his Gilroy home

Share this:

Sgt. Chad Gallacinao of the Gilroy Police Department talks to the media about what is believed to be an accidental shooting of a 3-year-old toddler in Gilroy, Calif. on Friday, July, 6, 2012. The child is believed to be a son of a San Jose Police Department officer. (Gary Reyes/ Staff)

As scores of police colleagues rally around a grieving San Jose officer, there are indications that his 3-year-old son somehow shot himself at their Gilroy home in what investigators are calling a tragic accident.

Gilroy police Sgt. Chad Gallacinao said Friday that neither the adults nor other children at home during the shooting were involved, but stopped short of saying the boy caused the gun to fire.

Preston Orlando was shot early Thursday evening at his home on the western edge of the south county city, authorities said. His father, Brandon Orlando, is a nine-year veteran of the San Jose force.

Police confirmed that a privately owned semiautomatic pistol was the gun that killed Preston, ruling out his father’s service weapon.

Meanwhile there has been an outpouring of support from the police department for Brandon Orlando and his family.

San Jose police spokesman Sgt. Jason Dwyer said Chief Chris Moore visited Orlando at St. Louise Regional Hospital and stayed for several hours overnight, as did dozens of other officers in the department.

“When something like that happens to one of us, it happens to all of us,” Dwyer said. “He’s hurting badly right now. The officers want to make sure he knows they’re here for him.”

The department’s chaplain was also on hand, as was a sergeant specializing in grief counseling.

“Officers are used to turning off their emotions so they can deal with everything,” said Sgt. Vanessa Payne of the Crisis Management Unit, whose office is reminding and encouraging officers to seek counseling and other help being offered.

The case is being investigated by Gilroy police in tandem with the District Attorney’s Office and county Medical Examiner’s Office.

“This is a very active investigation,” Gallacinao said.

Key details — such as how the boy was shot, whose gun it was, and how it was stored — were hard to come by Friday as police remained tight-lipped about the circumstances of the death, citing the sensitivity of their investigation.

Family members, including several children, were home when the child was shot with a handgun just before 5 p.m. Thursday in an upstairs room of the family’s Kentwood Court home, Gallacinao said.

Emergency personnel were quickly summoned and arrived to find Preston suffering from a gunshot wound. He died on the way to the hospital.

Gallacinao said the investigation is in its early stages, and “we believe it was accidental. However, we are investigating to verify that and determine how it happened.”

Multiple law-enforcement sources said police officers are subject to the same state gun-handling and storage laws as civilians, including penalties for failing to keep them out of the reach of children.

Dwyer said Orlando, a Gilroy High School alum, has served in San Jose police’s special operations metro unit and is a distinguished member of the force.

“That he had 30 to 40 officers show up (to the hospital) is a testament to how well-respected he is in the department,” he said.

The neighborhood near the Debell Uvas Creek Preserve was quiet and still Friday morning, the police having cleared the scene several hours before. In some instances, residents turned away reporters canvassing the street in the wake of the shooting, being protective of their grieving neighbor.

The number of toddlers killed accidentally by firearms is small. From 2006 through 2010, the latest figures available, six children younger than 5 years old died in unintentional shootings in California, according to Ralph Montano of the state Department of Public Health.

The public has responded with disbelief, anger and grief to the death of Preston. Those feelings are expected, said Kasey Halcon, who works with SV Faces’ Santa Clara County Victim Witness Assistance Program.

“The reactions to a violent death are one of unexpected feelings of insecurity and shock, which easily lead to feelings of anger and fear and the need to place blame,” she said. “We have a natural need to hold who we feel accountable responsible.”

But Halcon, the daughter of a police officer, stressed the importance of responding with sympathy and understanding.

“We risk vilifying a grieving family if we jump to conclusions,” she said. “Police officers spend their lives protecting their community.” For them, she said, “I would expect that protecting your family is of utmost importance.”

Staff writer Sharon Noguchi contributed to this story. Contact Mark Gomez at 408-920-5869 or Robert Salonga at 408-920-5002. Follow Gomez at Twitter .com/markmgomez and Salonga at Twitter.com/robertsalonga.

Eric Kurhi is a reporter for the Bay Area News Group based at The Mercury News. He covers Santa Clara County government and general assignment duties. An East Bay native, he has been editing and reporting at local newspapers since graduating from San Francisco State University in 1997.

Mark Gomez has worked for the Mercury News since 1992, including the past ten years as a reporter on the breaking news/public safety team. He is a South Bay native and graduate of San Jose State University.

Robert Salonga covers crime and public safety for the Bay Area News Group and is based at The Mercury News. A San Jose native, he has a bachelor's degree from UCLA and a Master's degree in journalism from the University of Maryland-College Park, but remains a Bruin at heart. His prior reporting stops include Washington, D.C. and Salinas. He is also a middling triathlete whose sole race goal is to be upright at the end. Contact Robert at 408-920-5002.

More in News

An Anaheim tagging crew member accused of stabbing a 12-year-old rival to death testified on Monday that he acted in self-defense and denied claims by a prosecutor that he yelled “Die! Die! Die!” as he delivered the fatal blows.